Self Checkout and Anxiety

I’ve seen a lot of memes about how much people hate self-checkout lanes at stores. And a lot of people comment about how stupid they are or make fun of them. Recently, I’ve noticed a lot of stores shutting them down. For some of us with anxiety, self-checkout is one of the greatest things on the planet! Because for some of us with anxiety, even having to say “hi” or interact with a complete stranger in any way whatsoever is absolutely terrifying. It may sound stupid to people who have never dealt with real, diagnosed anxiety before, but it’s part of what keeps me from going out more. I’m becoming more and more of a hermit, and I’m becoming more and more okay with that, as I’m only protecting myself from a disorder I never wanted or asked for.

Now, it obviously isn’t society’s job to protect or help me with my anxiety by keeping self-checkout lanes open and available, and I’m also someone who can take a joke and laugh at myself. I simply write this because education is one of the goals of my blog. While I’ll continue to laugh at memes making fun of self-checkout lanes and be understanding of why people dislike them, I also hope this has helped others understand why some of us love them and hope they stick around.